The Pittsburgh Pirates‘ final hope for clinching the ultimate NL Wild Card spot may very well be helped by the return of rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin.
The 20-year-old has been out with a finger damage since early July and was formally activated off the 60-day damage checklist forward of Pittsburgh’s sequence with the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.
In a corresponding transfer, catcher Christian Bethancourt was designated for task.
Griffin’s return to the Pirates’ lineup for the primary time in two months ought to present the staff with a much-needed spark. The membership enters the sequence with the Angels simply 5 video games out of the final NL Wild Card spot.
Will Konnor Griffin’s return be sufficient for the Pirates to make the postseason?
Even with the return of their franchise shortstop, the Pirates might want to go on a run to succeed in the postseason. That ought to begin this weekend in Los Angeles.
With roughly three weeks remaining within the common season, the 69-72 Pirates sit grouped with a number of groups within the hunt for the ultimate Wild Card spot.
Griffin’s affect earlier than the damage — slashing .276/.331/.404 throughout 59 video games with 5 dwelling runs and 20 stolen bases — definitely provides the staff with cause for optimism for his return, particularly because the lineup has struggled towards left-handed pitching.
As Sports Illustrated’s Dominic Campbell writes, “Griffin being that right-handed bat can be essential, because the Pirates have struggled massively towards left-handed pitching in 2026, 14-30 on the season and 6-13 after the All-Star break when a southpaw starts.” Griffin hit .298/.339/.439 against lefties.
The Pirates have slugged .315 as a team and will benefit from Griffin’s extra-base tendencies. He had 10 doubles and a pair of triples before the injury. Pittsburgh was 31-28 with him in the lineup.
Jared Triolo and Jacob Gonzalez have shared duties at shortstop in Griffin’s absence. The duo has struggled to a combined .220 batting average and .597 OPS.
The team and Pirates manager Don Kelly will be happy to welcome their spark plug back on the field.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘1324276914788316’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
